The below story is running on P2 Monday, but I wanted to combo it with an item that’s not running, so I’ll blog the two together …

Richard Bachman was REALLY good Saturday night against the Gophers. Easily the game’s best player, one that looked like he had the nerves of a fifth-year senior. AND THIS WAS HIS SECOND CAREER GAME — and against MINNY! Obviously, I was really impressed, and drew a connection with Bachman and the last CC goalie to get the Tigs to the national championship game …

Last time CC played in the NCAA title game? 1996. Who was CC’s goalie? Ryan Bach (not much different than Richard Bachman, eh?) What team did CC lose to in that game? Michigan, 3-2 in OT. Who was Michigan’s freshman goalie? Marty Turco. Who might succeed Turco with the Dallas Stars? Bachman, whom the Stars chose with the 120th pick of the 2006 draft.

And yes, I could only get away with that by blogging. (It’s a small world I live in, but college hockey takes up a lot of it.)

Anyway, here’s the Bachman-Ruegsegger story:

Another Front Range twist is winding itself around the University of Denver-Colorado College hockey rivalry.

In 2001 the duo spearheaded the Littleton Hawks’ AA peewee team to a 12-under national championship _ Colorado’s first such youth title ever.

Now, both have emerged stars on different sides of one of the greatest NCAA hockey rivalries in the country.
All Bachman did last weekend in his debut was backstop CC to 3-1 and 2-1 (overtime) victories over No. 3 Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers have 15 NHL draft picks and came into Colorado Springs 2-0 and two-time defending WCHA champions.

They left sore losers after being frustrated for 123 minutes by a kid from a suburb that doesn’t even have an ice rink. (But he did grow up two doors down from WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, whose league office is in Denver.)

So why didn’t Bachman join Ruegsegger at DU? After all, they both grew up Pioneers fans, which means they hated the Tigers.

“Great opportunity here and I’m back home in Colorado with my family,” Bachman said. “I’m really happy coming here. Great academics, like DU, and its just a great fit for me.”

Two years ago the Pioneers identified freshman Marc Cheverie of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, as its successor to senior goalie Peter Mannino. So Bachman said DU didn’t have a lot of interest in him, although they did speak.

CC coach Scott Owens has been eyeing Bachman since he was 15 and felt confident he could sign him after learning of DU’s interest in Cheverie.

“He’s a kid that did play a year on the north end of the Springs,” Owens said of Bachman. “We tracked him. We followed him. He hasn’t been in Denver for a couple years, so that helped.”

Like all 15-year-old Front Range hockey players with big dreams, Bachman headed east. He graduated from Massachusetts’ Cushing Academy High School and then played a year in the junior-A United States Hockey League.

Ruegsegger graduated from Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., and became DU’s first Colorado native to join the program on full scholarship straight out of high school.

“We’ve always been best friends and stuff, so it’s going to be a little weird playing against him in this rivalry,” Bachman said of Ruegsegger. “But we did play against each other when he was with Shattuck and I was with the Greater Boston Junior Bruins; we played against each other two or three times at nationals. So I’m a little used to it, but this is really going to take the cake, having it the CC-Denver series.”

Bachman was very very good this weekend. CC is a team that plays hard from the first drop of the puck. They most definitely deserved the sweep as the Gophers were lazy, gave up way too many odd-man rushes and generally didn’t care. I thought Frazee was just as good as Bachman this weekend.

Bachman was very very good this weekend. CC is a team that plays hard from the first drop of the puck. They most definitely deserved the sweep as the Gophers were lazy, gave up way too many odd-man rushes and generally didn’t care. I thought Frazee was just as good as Bachman this weekend.